Living Dead Doll Freddy Krueger from Mezco!

Mezco Toyz recently released a truly nightmarish addition to their “Living Dead Doll” library: Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street fame! As a huge fan of the iconic horror slasher I was enthralled the first time I saw preview photos of the new doll on Twitter. His face was based on Robert Englund’s Freddy (the only important Freddy…fight me)! His burned face and signature grin looked lovingly crafted to be as creepy as possible while still having that cute Living Dead Doll aesthetic! And he was going to TALK!

A TALKING Living Dead Doll Freddy Krueger! SOLD!

Long before he was ever available for the public, I knew that I had to have this doll in my collection. I already had a modest group of Living Dead Dolls thanks to Jason, and my friends River and Marie, and Freddy was sure to make an amazing addition to that group!

So imagine my elation when I learned that the awesome, awesome River had already pre-ordered him for me! Thank you so much for the hundredth time River!!!

So you know I was on pins-and-needles for weeks waiting for the pre-order to release. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this devilish doll. I was positively dying to hear which sound bytes he was going to come with! And, of course, I knew that I was going to do an unboxing video and show him off to the YouTube world!

And then…FINALLY! He arrived!

“Come to Freddy!”

Right from the offset, this figure is packaged in a lovely window-fronted box for easy viewing, should you be an inbox collector. The edges around the window on the front feature the design of Freddy’s shirt, looking nice and worn. The side shows an image of Freddy off to the side with some lovely, creepy lighting. And the back shows a beautiful close-up of the doll’s face and claw-glove. Also on the back is a handy “Try Me” opening, so if you come across Freddy in store you can listen to his voice before purchasing.

The packaging is also very collector-friendly, with only a single piece of tape holding the box top closed. The inner bubble-casing is comprised of two interlocking pieces that simply pop apart, and there are no twist-ties or confinements of any kind. Two thumbs up for not needing to destroy the package to get the figure out!

One, two…Freddy’s comin’ for you…

There have been some amazing photos taken of this Living Dead Doll Freddy Krueger, but nothing compares to seeing the little guy up close, out of the box. I may have squealed…just a little bit.

“I’m your boyfriend now, Tracey.”

Mezco did an amazing job of holding on to that cute doll aesthetic while also capturing Freddy’s look perfectly! He fits in to the Living Dead Doll style so well it’s almost amazing. I can practically picture him being from an actual movie scene, in which Freddy disguises himself as a doll on a victim’s bedroom shelf.

First, we have the ensemble:

Like most Living Dead Dolls, this Freddy has actual fabric clothes, which accents the doll look much nicer than if they were a molded plastic design. He’s outfitted with a little pair of brown corduroy-style pants, and his iconic red-and-green sweater, both of which look and feel like real clothing, shrunk to fit him. He also has a little pair of boots with molded laces and stitches for extra detail. The boots also have slits in the back allowing for them to be removed, if desired. And of course he has that amazing fedora. His signature hat is easily removable, but also has two cushions on the inside to help it grip to his head. This accessory is not going to go flying away, in other words. It’s also made with a slightly fuzzy material which makes it, like the clothes, feel that much more authentic.

Awesome threads! But now we need to talk about the GLOVE!

“This…is God!”

One of the most important details of any Freddy Krueger figure is, of course, the claw glove. Mezco did not disappoint with this detail. His hand is splayed out so that you can see each individual blade coming out from the glove’s fingers. There are plenty of little details like the metal plate and the rings on the palm side of the fingers. And it just looks adorable! As insane as it sounds, the glove looks like it’s part of a small child’s outfit, while still being distinctly Freddy Krueger’s glove. I can easily envision it being worn by a psychotic toddler in one of my worst nightmares. That is some excellent creepy-cute design right there.

Okay, the clothes and glove are awesome, but what REALLY makes this doll is…

A face – and head – that not even a mother could love.

His head and face are positively amazing. As I’ve pointed out in previous Freddy collectible unboxings, what really makes a Freddy collectible is the face and his skin. Considering that Living Dead Dolls are meant to look like, well, dolls, Mezco could have easily skimped on this detail by painting scars and tears on a flat head. Fortunately they chose the route of gorgeous detail! Freddy’s skin is pulled, pinched, ripped, torn, and missing giant chunks in multiple places. Where the flesh is missing they’ve sculpted muscle and sinew, painting everything spectacularly. The details cover every millimeter of his head so that he looks wonderful with or without his hat.

And then there’s the face! The sculptors did an amazing job of capturing Robert Englund’s iconic terrifying grin. The teeth are yellowed and disgusting, and his nose is crinkled back, showing the depth of the spine-chilling smile. His brow is furrowed, the skin pinched around his eyes, and deep, dark circles under each eye that make him that little bit more dark and disturbing.

Speaking of disturbing: those eyes! They aren’t glass doll eyes, but from a modest distance they certainly appear to be. The surface is actually quite flat, but has been painted immaculately in such a way to give them depth, along with a glossy coating on top. Beside that, just look at the way he’s looking down, as though he’s hovering over top of you…

“I’ll kill you slow!”

Just imagine having that on a shelf hovering over your bed at night! NIGHTMARES FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!Which, I suppose, is absolutely perfect in this situation!

So I think I’ve spoken thoroughly on what the figure looks like, but I haven’t mentioned anything about arguably the most fun part!

HE TALKS!

I was like a kid in a candy store the first time I heard my new Freddy doll speak! There is an on-off-try switch on his back under the shirt, as well as a button around the waist area to active his voice. There are seven sound bytes, each one a memorable quote from the movies:

“Come to Freddy.”“You’re all my children now!”“You shouldn’t have buried me, I’m not dead!”“Kids, always a disappointment.”“You think you was going to get away from me?”“Every town has an Elm Street.”“HA HA HA HA HA HA!” *maniacal laughter*

The sound bytes that were chosen were, in my opinion, pretty perfect. There are other great ones that come to mind, but many of them are vulgar and/or profane, so I imagine that’s why Mezco chose to avoid them. Regardless, listening to this terrifyingly adorable doll spout these sentences is amazing. In particular I absolutely love the maniacal laughter. It perfectly suits the evil grin on the doll’s face and is the kind of sound you’d terrify little kids with during Halloween. In fact, I fully plan to put lil’ Freddy out in our Halloween display this year! I’m certain the kids who love to come check out our display will get an incredible kick out of him!

Nine, ten…never sleep again…

In Conclusion:

I am absolutely in love with this figure. As a huge fan of Freddy Krueger I was super excited for it the moment I knew it was coming. But then to actually see it in person? I’m blown away with what a great job Mezco did on its design. It fits in perfectly with the Living Dead Doll aesthetic, but is also well and truly Freddy Krueger. He’s a tiny terror, to be sure, both adorable and nightmarish. He’s an absolutely perfect addition to our horror collection – and my growing Living Dead Doll collection.